


All About Ari

by pictureperfectporcelain



Category: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Genre: M/M, One Shot, fight me, i just really love this book
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-21
Updated: 2016-10-21
Packaged: 2018-08-23 16:46:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8335000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pictureperfectporcelain/pseuds/pictureperfectporcelain
Summary: Daniel G thinks Dante is cute. Very cute. But he's beginning to realize that it all comes back to one person at the end of the day, or at least when it comes to Dante Quintana. ---Basically, Daniel endures LOTS of pining.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Wow okay, so this is my first fanfiction on this website, and I would NOT have guessed that this would be it. I read this book and fell in love with their relationship, though, so... here is the product! (Expect more Aristotle/Dante fanfics, I have so many ideas.)
> 
> ALSO CAN ANYBODY TELL ME WHAT THE SHIP NAME FOR THESE TWO IS?? HELP.

Daniel didn’t have high hopes for his romantic life when he moved to Texas. In fact, they were pretty much dashed to bits. Texas wasn’t exactly a progressive place, and he was a progressive person. A boy who liked other boys.

That changed when he got to work, though. There was this cute guy who he worked with. His name was Dante. (Daniel hadn’t believed him at first. After all, what unforgiving parent would name their child _Dante_?)

But it turned out to be the poor guy’s actual name. Not that Daniel cared that much; it was actually sort of neat, unlike Daniel. And he was clearly interested in him; he kept touching his arm and laughing.

The problem was, he had a friend. The first time this friend came up, Daniel didn’t think much of it.

***

“Do you want to do something after work?” he had asked.

Dante smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, I can’t… I’m hanging out with my friend tonight.”

Daniel cocked his head. “Anything exciting on the agenda?”

“Probably not. We might just kick it with his dog… his dog is the single best creature on this planet.”

“Fun,” Daniel replied, bored of the discussion already. He was a cat person, anyway.

***

The second time this friend came up, he became curious.

They were both on break, passing around a cigarette. He was trying not to laugh at Dante’s obvious inexperience with it; he kept wrinkling his nose and trying not to cough. “Is this pot?”

“Yep,” he said, popping the p. “Is that a problem?”

“No,” said Dante quickly. “I’m just wondering where one would get pot in this suburban town.”

“Why are you asking? Looking to find a dealer?”

“No, I just thought it would be fun to try with a friend.”

Daniel smirked. “Are you saying we’re not friends? I’m insulted.”

“You know what I mean, asshat.”

“Would this be the same friend you hung out with the other day?” he asked, half because he wanted to know and half because he didn’t know what else to say.

“Yeah, Ari’s my best friend, but he’s never done any sort of drug as far as I know, and he said he would like to… but I only know how to get high in Chicago.”

“Ah, Ari… the one with the dog.”

“The very one!”

“I’m a cat person, myself.”

Dante laughed. “You wouldn’t be if you knew Legs.”

“I’m starting to think you live in a community of people who _love_ weird names. First, it’s Dante. Then, it’s a dude named “Ari,” which I’m pretty sure is a girl name. And then there’s a dog named _Legs._ ”

A sour expression comes onto his face, and Daniel thinks he’s offended him. But before he can say anything, the expression is gone, replaced with Dante’s usual good-natured smile. (He can tell he’s still mad at him, though.)

“To be fair, his name isn’t _really_ Ari; it’s Aristotle.”

“You’re shitting me. You are _actually_ shitting me.”

“I’m not!”

“I thank God everyday that I don’t have that kid’s parents.” Daniel shakes his head. “I suppose you’ll tell me the dog’s name is short for _Legislative Assistant_ or something.”

“No, Legs is named Legs because Ari got him the day he was able to walk again.” Before Daniel can ask, Dante launches into a story about a car crash and a baby bird.

Now, he’s legitimately curious. Who _is_ this kid?

***

The third time Dante mentions Ari, Daniel starts to understand.

Or, rather, the third time Dante mentions him and the first time Daniel sees him.

They’re both working. It’s almost time for him for his shift to end, but he’s decided to hang around until Dante finishes too. After all, he’s _really_ cute.

Then, he sees a big red pickup truck pull into the lot, and whistles. “Now _that’s_ a ride.”

Dante immediately brightens at the sight of the truck. “Hey, it’s Ari!”

Daniel pretends to leave, then hides behind a row of shelves. It sounds creepier than it is. He’s not trying to spy or anything. He’s just curious about this guy that Dante spends so much time around.

A good-looking teenage guy walks in, who he assumes is Ari. His first thought is; _Good thing he’s not gay._ Because if he was, Dante wouldn’t be wasting his time with Daniel. Ari is built, but not to the point that it’s ridiculous, and he has a very exotic look to him, with his long dark hair and Spanish skin.

There’s no trace of the dog, which is disappointing.

He turns his attention back to Aristotle and Dante talking. They appear to be mad at each other for some reason. He hears something about “ _rules”_ but nothing else. Dante reaches out for Ari, who ducks away, and says something over his shoulder before walking away.

Dante is left standing there at the register. He looks confused and angry, naturally, but beneath that, he looks hurt. So, so hurt. And sad.

And suddenly, Daniel can’t help but think that it doesn’t matter that Aristotle isn’t gay. It doesn’t seem to make a difference to Dante, as he stands there, staring at the pickup truck that’s backing out of the parking lot, with a world of apology in his eyes.

***

The fourth time Dante mentions Ari, he knows for sure.

They’re just hanging out, like they sometimes do after work. Dante’s thanking him for the millionth time for giving him some of his pot. Daniel doesn’t feel like it’s a big deal. What’s a bit of pot between friends?

“-was so much fun, the only thing we were wearing was our tennis shoes-”

“Wait, you were _naked_ with that guy?”

“I was high, give me a break.” He said. “Anyway, it was for the purpose of irony. I hate shoes.”

“Whatever happened to him not liking guys?”

“He doesn’t.” Says Dante. Maybe it’s only Daniel, but he sounds a bit sad about that. “It was just for fun.”

“Yeah, because every guy gets naked with their best friend for fun.”

“He’s not like us, okay? I don’t even like him in that way.”

Daniel drops the subject. Deep down, he thinks; _“Yes, but do you love him?”_

***

Despite the obvious affection Dante has for his friend, they don’t talk about him much. In fact, he purposely dodges the subject whenever he can.

Because of this, he soon stops thinking about it. This is what leads to them making out in an alley in the setting sun.

They’re both getting pretty into it. Daniel has probably kissed more boys than Dante has, but he’s still a good kisser. Daniel has him pressed against the brick wall of the factory next to them, making small keening noises.

A voice breaks the spell. “Hey, check out the fags!”

Dante swears under his breath. They’re so screwed. Daniel steps away from the other boy as if he’s on fire, but it’s too late. They’ve already been spotted.

“C’mon,” he says, pulling on Dante’s arm. Dante doesn’t follow him.

A group of boys, maybe four or five, start to surround them. He looks over at Dante, who doesn’t appear like he’s going to move. _Or,_ thinks Daniel, _like he’s any good in a fight._

Without a second thought, Daniel takes off running. He hears the jeers and taunts behind him, but he doesn’t care. “ _Run, faggot! Leave your boyfriend!”_

He knows that if he were to look, he’d see Dante looking betrayed. He doesn’t look.

He also doesn’t tell anybody. What if they told his parents or his classmates, and then everyone knew he had kissed a boy? That wasn’t an option.

All he does is hope that Dante is stronger than he looks.

***

However, he regrets this decision exactly two days later, when he’s pretty much stopped thinking about it. A very angry - and very familiar - young man storms into the drugstore. He can’t remember how he knows him.

That is, until he says, “I’m Ari. I’m Dante’s friend.”

“I know,” he says. His heart is beating fast, and he’s feeling panicky. This guy looks like he means business.

“I think you should take a break.” Says Ari. Daniel tries to object, only to be cut off. “I’m going to go outside and wait for you. I’m going to wait for exactly five minutes. And if you’re not out of there in five minutes, then I’m going to walk back inside this drugstore and kick your fucking ass in front of the whole world.”

“I-”

“And if you don’t think I’ll do it, you better look into my eyes and study them.” With that, he walks out the door purposefully, leaving Daniel a nervous wreck.

He can’t really run for it. He still has an hour in his shift. Plus, Ari will find him sooner or later; he’s 99% sure he goes to school with him. He’d rather have his ass kicked in the parking lot of a drugstore than in a school hallway.

He’s waiting for Daniel when he leaves the store. Dread curls fiercely in his stomach. He’d almost prefer getting beaten up by the gang of guys. None of them look as vicious as Aristotle does currently.

“Let’s walk,” he says. Daniel follows him. They don’t go far. “Dante’s in the hospital.”

Guilt hits him, but not as much as it should. He’s more worried. What if Dante spills the beans and tells people why he got beat up in the first place? “Oh.”

“Oh?”

“You haven’t gone to visit. Don’t you have anything to say, you asshole?”

Daniel looks up, incredulous. “What do you want me to say?”  
  
“You bastard,” says Ari. “You don’t feel anything?”   
  
He’s shaking like a leaf, at this point. Dante always spoke of Aristotle as if he were a saint. Maybe he was, in Dante’s eyes; he had no doubt in his mind that Ari could do no harm as far as Dante could tell. He was _so_ whipped. But this guy was certainly not a saint. He was big, and angry, and frightening. Daniel keeps shaking.

“Who were they?” he asks in that rough tone of his. The tone that implies that he knows how to hide a body.

“W-what are you talking about?”

“Don’t screw with me, asshole.”

But Daniel can’t tell him, if he tells him, they’ll come for him. And if they come for him, everyone will know, everyone will know he kisses boys, and if everyone knows he kisses boys, he’ll end up in the hospital like Dante. He’s so afraid of being hurt.

Dante is brave, but Daniel isn’t. He’s so afraid.

“You won’t tell anyone.”

Suddenly, he’s pulled in close to Ari’s face by his collar. It feels as if he’s choking. “Dante’s lying in a hospital and the only thing you’re worried about is who I’m going to tell?! Who am I going to tell, asshole. Just tell me who they were.”

“I don’t know!”

“ _Bullshit._ You tell me now and I won’t kick your ass from here to the South Pole.”

Daniel gulps. The look on his face says that he means business.

“I don’t know all of them. There were four guys.”

“All I need is one name,” hisses Aristotle, fire in his eyes. “Just _one._ ”

So Daniel tells him. He tells him about how Dante wouldn’t run, and how it was Julian Enriquez and Joe Moncada.

What he doesn’t tell him is how _scared_ he is. It’s pretty obvious, anyhow.

He never does get beaten up. Ari just shoves him against the wall of the drugstore and peels out of the parking lot in his cherry red truck, as if he didn’t just scare Daniel more than he’s ever been scared before.

***

Daniel isn’t sure why he apologizes. Part of him wants to believe it’s only because he’s genuinely sorry. And he is! He feels bad for leaving Dante all alone. But another part of him just doesn’t want Dante’s _dear_ friend Aristotle coming after him again.

When he knocks on the Quintana’s door, they almost slam it in his face. His mother looks especially violent. For a moment, he thinks he’s made a horrible mistake. Then Mr. Quintana waves him in, apologizing for the rude welcome. “ _He’s here to apologize to Dante, honey,”_ he hears the man whisper to his wife. _“Let him do his explaining. Dante needs this.”_

He marches up the stairs to where he assumes Dante’s room is. When he walks in, he tries to look as guilty as possible.

Dante doesn’t look good. His face is bruised and cut in places a face shouldn’t be bruised and cut, and he has crutches propped up against his bed. When he sees Daniel, he tries to jump to his feet, then winces and puts a hand over his (broken?) ribs.

“What are you doing here?” he says, venomously. He doesn’t sound nearly as scary as his mother or best friend did, however. Dante’s not the type of boy who is meant to be scary. It’s Daniel’s favourite thing about him.

“I’m here to apologize,” he says.

“Then go ahead.” His voice is not so angry anymore, but still frosty.

“Uh- well, I’m sorry. Like, really sorry. It wasn’t cool of me to leave you like that.”

Dante looks unimpressed.

“And I promise not to do it again.”

“No shit, Sherlock. We’re never repeating the experience.”

Daniel almost says, _Who would want to kiss you with your face like that, anyway?_ But it sounds mean. Is he mean? He feels mean.

He feels spiteful. It’s Dante who’s hurt, and yet he feels spiteful.

“I think it upset Ari.”

Daniel visibly freezes at Ari’s name. Dante doesn’t ask. Maybe he already knows.

 _It always comes back to that guy with Dante,_ he thinks. _It upset_ **_Ari_ ** _, the_ **_straight_ ** _boy who almost_ **_beat me to a pulp_ ** _the other day. But God forbid anything_ **_upsets_ ** _him._

 **_“_** Whatever, I get it,” he says. “Are we cool?”

Dante smiles, and it makes his whole face look less cut up. “Yeah. We’re cool.”

“Good.” He replies.

“I could use some more friends, anyway,” says Dante. “Currently, my only friend is the guy who is possibly grounded. He beat up one of the guys who jumped me pretty badly, and I think his parents are angry.”

“Well, they deserved it,” says Daniel.

“They did,” agrees Dante. “I’m just sad that it couldn’t be me who beat them up.”

“I’ll probably never be able to face them, just so you know, Dante,” he says quietly. “If you’re hoping I’ll do something like that… well, I won’t. I’m a scaredy-cat. I’m not as good a friend.”

Dante nods. “Neither would I. I’m not that fearless.” He pauses. Under his breath, so quietly Daniel can barely hear it, he says, “Ari is the only one that is.”

 _We agree to disagree on the wonderfulness of this guy,_ thinks Daniel. _I, personally, have something against anyone who tries to beat my face in._

 

They talk for a few more minutes before Daniel decides to hit the road. “Bye! See you around!” Calls Dante from the living room.

“Bye! Get better soon, by the way. I’m tired of having to work both our shifts at the drugstore.”

He turns to leave, but not before he hears Mr. Quintana say, “Ari stopped by. We told him he could go upstairs, but he didn’t want to.”

“Ari came by?” asks Dante. “Why didn’t you get him to stay?”

“I don’t know, Dante,” says Mrs. Quintana. “He didn’t seem like he was in the mood.”

 _Hmm,_ Daniel thinks. _Maybe this guy isn’t nearly as straight as I thought._

***

They hang out a bit more, mostly at work. And while Dante’s nice and all, he can’t help being jealous of Ari. It’s not as if he even _likes_ Dante that much. It’s more the fact that _Dante_ doesn’t like _him_ that much.

One day, while they’re hanging out, he tells Dante that he doesn’t want to talk about Ari. “I hate to break it to you, bud, but that guy is an asshole.” He says. “What kind of person threatens to ‘ _kick someone’s ass from here to the South Pole’-_ he makes his voice deep in an attempt to imitate him - “just because they ran from a fight?”

He personally thought his impression was pretty funny, but Dante seems to disagree. As in, more than he’s ever seen Dante disagree with something.

“I think _you_ calling _him_ an asshole is rich,” he says, with a forced laugh. Daniel laughs along, but inside, he’s angry. He’s not an asshole for not wanting to get beaten up!

They go on being friends, but something has changed, and Daniel really doesn’t care when Dante stops calling him.

He knows Dante well enough, at this point, to know that he was only a replacement for his precious, _precious_ Ari.

He hopes they’re very happy together. He hopes Dante learns not to trust boys who can’t control their tempers. And he hopes Aristotle Mendoza goes to hell.  
  


**Author's Note:**

> *wink wink nudge nudge* I like comments.


End file.
